Stephen McCranie's Space Boy Volume 1

I originally started reading this as a Webtoon comic, kind of on a whim. It looked interesting and I needed something to read.It's one of only a handful of books I've read completely through more than once.Stephen McCranie is an artist in more ways than one. He's a fantastic writer and his drawings and art truly awe me. He has a compelling storyline that I honestly could not have predicted when I started reading this. His work is unique and interesting, a one of a kind story that leaves you on the edge of your seat.Also, you should know that the man in person, as a person, is very, very nice. He's the kind of guy who does his best to respond to fan mail and genuinely appreciates the people who read his work. He's a great guy with a great talent.Now, if you are interested in a reader's synopsis, here goes:To start, you meet Amy, a teenager living in Deep Space with her parents on a mining colony. Due to her father being laid off from his job, they are forced to move to Earth via a cryopod, where they are frozen in time and are sent on a 30 year long voyage to Earth. This means that in 30 years, when she arrives, she will be 30 years younger than the best friend she leaves behind on the mining colony, and it's hard for her to think of that.Fast forward 30 years, and she wakes up on Earth. She's put through what is essentially "Earth Orientation" before being signed up for school. In a way, she is living in the future. Thirty years has had a way of improving technology to a point where now every student has a pair of "net gear" glasses (think VR as a set of glasses instead of a bulky headset.)I don't want to spoil the best parts, so I'll sum up the rest by saying that as she goes to this new school and meets new friends, she comes across "the weird one" - a boy about her age, who is detached from the world he lives in in many ways, and who she frequently describes as being empty. She has a knack for naming everybody's "flavor", or personality, but she can't for the life of her figure out what "flavor" this guy is.As you can guess, getting to know him, along with the antics of figuring out who she is at this new Earth school, leads her on this insane journey that you've just gotta read. It's one of those cases where I want to tell you what happens because it's such a good story - but I'm going to make you read it for yourself.I'd give it 6/5 stars if I could. Scratch that, All stars out of five stars. It's that awesome.

Started to read on Webtoon, though I should support the author cause his story is great, and bought the print version.Good points:Great art, the color pallets are lovely and some of the full pages spreads have great dynamic.Great story and plot being set up. The details of the future tech are a nice touch, especially how teenagers would use the net gear to alter their appearance.The real boon of Space Boy are all the feels, of being in a new place and starting over and trying to navigate a whole new reality.Minor notes for improvement:My copy had what looked like a grease mark on one page, the color on another page looked speckled like there was a small printer error.I also personally don't like that female character's feet are drawn as points, but that's just me being nit picky, I know how much work goes into every panel (being a budding comic artist myself) so I totally get taking short cuts.Not sure I fully buy/understand why Amy's family would be forced to leave the mining colony, wouldn't the travel be more expensive for the company to fund than to keep them…?All in all, go for, to support to author and to add an awesome story to your shelf. Must buy the sequels!

I have been a fan of this series for several years and I only just found out it was getting a paperback release! I am soooo excited to finally get to own it in a hardcopy format cause it is such a great series. This is a story that I happened to come across on Webtoons and I decided to give it a try. Little did I know how much of an impact it would actually have on me. I ended up reading 80 some chapters in one night I was so hooked! (at the time only 80 chapters had been published). Now with 160+ chapters its still such a great story.Can I just say: the story is absolutely fantastic and the characters are so lovable. Personally I love the artwork, and you can really see it evolve through the years Stephen has been working on it. But I didn't start the series for the art, I wanted some plot and boy did I get some amazing plot. I have never been so drawn to a story so quickly and I honestly think its because of how talented Stephen is with portraying his characters as well as the environment in which they are placed in. I'm so emotionally invested in these characters T^TBTW: This first volume covers the first 16 chapters for those who were wondering.Basically, buy this beautiful book and help support Stephen please!!!! Show some love for this beautiful story!!!!!

I love this series and I was going to buy it anyway, but I didn’t simply buy it for enjoyment. I’m in college for art and I’m making a comic for my thesis! Part of my milestones I assigned is to post it online to Webtoon, but I’m making the comic in a comic book format first. Because of that, I figured it’d be handy to have the physical novel version of this series to compare how McCranie formats the book to Webtoon for my own comic.Because of the pandemic, I didn’t think it would come by before the end of the semester, but they pulled through! I am really thankful that they managed to do it in a timely manner. It really speaks volumes (pun intended I suppose hah) their dedication while the pandemic is going on, I am great full for that.Also if anybody is worried about quality, this book is solid, really good materials and really well made. I’m planning on ordering the rest when I feel secure enough in spending money!!

Historia de ciencia ficción preciosa, mundo muy bien construido y personajes interesantes, ademas de estilo limpio y bonito. 100% recomendable.

Stephen has created a vibrant Sci-Fi world in which his main protagonist is cast into a whole new environment and has to learn to live anew. Her relentless optimism and kind heart are put to the test repeatedly, but she is weathers the trials.Stephen beautifully illustrates his world and characters which really helps the reader immersion throughout the series. The layers of depth build to an intriguing political thriller.

This book is a beautifully designed first volume in a series that has repeatedly blown me away by its depth of realism and expanse of creativity. The characters are all solid individuals; their personal struggles are relatable and tangible, and you can’t help but root for them (or boo them, as the case may be). The writing is thoughtful and emotionally complex, with heartfelt themes on dealing with loss, relationships, love, working through change, and building a new life out of unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances. There’s also a gleaming hint of mystery that invites you in the most innocent manner to come along for the ride, before it grabs you and makes you completely unable to stop reading! If that isn’t enough to sell you, the artwork is absolutely phenomenal, and worth every hour I’ve spent just looking at it. The whole series is a piece of art in and of itself; it’s excellently written, beautifully drawn, it’s clean, it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s everything I never knew I wanted out of a comic. It’s touched me in a way I never expected, and all I can say to Mr. McCranie is “thank you.”

I read the webcomic and wanted to get this book to support the author. The story is actually really intricate and has a lot of thought put into it. Also I'm pleasantly surprised by how much better the art looks in print form. I got volume 2, too and I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the series as well.Side note: This story is available on Webtoon for those of you wanting more and only reading the physical copies. It also supports the author on the platform if you like, subscribe and share the series :))

Already having read the beginning of the story on webtoons, I knew what I was getting with this comic. Still, I loved it!Space Boy takes place in a distant future, where humans have colonized space and even found an artifact that seems to have been created by another species (which will be more important later in the story). Amy, the main character, has to move from her mining colony in outer space to earth, with the journey taking 30 years which she spends frozen. While that in itself sounds like a wonderfully intriguing beginning, there is still more: A boy at school who hides a secret has caught Amy's eyes and finding out what he is about is the most interesting and thought-provoking journey a comic has ever sent me on.While the first comic mostly focuses on Amy, I still enjoyed it a lot. The drawing style is beautiful and I am so happy about seeing it on paper.